Back in 2015, Microsoft launched Edge HTM, a proprietary browser from Microsoft, but it failed to catch people’s attention.

Later in 2019, Edge was built on Google’s free open-source Chromium project, making it similar to popular browsers like Chrome and Brave. It must be admitted that this was the starting point for Microsoft, which led to the increase in users as it is today.

If anyone is currently using Edge or is planning to switch, we have some simple tips that many people may not know to recommend.

1.Control tracking or web browsing tracking

In case anyone doesn’t know, when we open any website, our online activities will always be tracked (especially for those who use Chrome). Browsers like Firefox, Brave, and Edge are among the browsers that allow users to set up a block to prevent online activity from being tracked.

The method is as follows:

• Go to the three-line button on the top right, then select Setting
• On the right, select Privacy
• There are 3 topics to choose from under Tracking prevention: Basic, Balanced, Strict, where Strict is the most advanced blocking, which will have the least amount of ads or intrusive ads. But some people might not like it that much.

2. Open Immersive Reading mode to focus on what you want to read.

Nowadays, when we open a website to read any article, there are often advertisements or links that are not related to the article at all. And it can make us lose focus on what we want to read. Edge can help by turning on Immersive Reading, which removes text or advertisements and lets us focus on the text we want.

The method is as follows:

• Go to the article that we want to open this mode.
• Notice the URL tab on the far right, there will be a book icon with a speaker.
• Click on that icon or press the shortcut F9 and you’re done.

Note: This mode may not be available on all pages.

3. If you’re too lazy to read, let Edge read it to you.

For lazy people who don’t want to read by themselves, Edge has a feature that will help read it to you.

The method is as follows:

• Go to step 2 to turn on Immersive Reading mode.
• Then select Read aloud.

4. Pin Tab or Pin Tab

If there is a website that we often visit or want to keep it open all the time, even if the browser is closed and reopened, we can pin the tab. In addition to helping pin, doing this will reduce the tab to a smaller size, helping us save space to open more tabs.

The method is as follows:

• Select the tab you want to pin.
• Right-click and select Pin Tab.

5. เปลี่ยนค่า Default Search จาก Bing เป็น Google

This must be admitted as one of the disadvantages of Edge: when you open a new tab and press search, Edge will set Bing as the default search engine. As everyone knows, it’s hard to find anything. And the menu to change the search engine is still in the deepest corner, very hard to find (probably intentionally). But there is a way to change it.

The method is as follows:

• Go to the three dots button on the top right.
• Select Setting.
• Select Privacy, Search, and service.
• In the Services section at the very bottom, select Address bar and search.
• In the Search engine used in the address bar section, select Google.
• In the Search on new tabs uses search box or address bar section, select Address bar.

6. Enable Extensions from Chrome

We have to admit that the highlight of the Chrome browser is that it has many cool extensions to use. And that makes Chrome still a popular browser right now. But Edge can do the same. Edge can install every extension that Chrome can install. But you have to enable some features first.

The method is as follows:

• Go to the three-dot button, then select the word Extension.
• On the left, under the word “Allow extensions from other”, let’s check to enable it. That’s it, you can install extensions like Chrome.

7. Change Theme

I believe that very few people will use the original theme that Edge provides. Although Edge was launched later than Firefox or Chrome, the main feature of changing themes is definitely available.

The method is as follows:

• Go to the three-dot button and select Setting
• Select Appearance
• In the Theme section, you can choose to change the color. You can also download other themes.

8. Use the Web capture tool or web page capture

On Edge, there is a tool that allows us to capture the web page we are on, making it easier to capture and send it to other platforms such as Line or Messenger.

The method is as follows:

• Select the website you want to capture.
• Click on the three-dot button.
• Select the word Webcapture.
• Select the location you want to capture.
• Once you have selected the location, you will be able to choose to Copy or Mark up capture. If you select Copy, you can paste it into Line.

9. Use the sidebar search

When using the internet, sometimes we may come across words that we don’t understand, so we have to copy the words and paste them into Google to find more information. But there is an easier way: use the sidebar search.

The method is as follows:

• Press the black circle on the word we want to search.
• Press the right button and select Search Bing in sidebar for … That’s it, the search tab on the side will search for the word for us.

Note: The disadvantage of this method is that it will use Bing to search.

10.Shortcut keys for using Edge

Like any other web browser or software, Microsoft Edge has shortcut keys to help us do things quickly and save time on clicking.

• Ctrl + D: Used to save the current tab as a favorite.
• Ctrl + J: Used to open the download tab.
• Ctrl + K: Used to open the URL tab above.
• Ctrl + Shift + K: Used to open the same web page in a new tab.
• Ctrl + M: Used to mute the sound in the open tab.
• Ctrl + N: Used to open a new window.
• Ctrl + S: Used to save the page.

Source : Techhub